The bail application of journalist Siddique Kappan who was booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in Hathras conspiracy case was rejected by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court today.
A single bench of Justice Krishan Pahal passed the rejection order on Thursday.
On August 2, the bench had reserved its order on arguments by the counsels of the accused and the state.
Siddique Kappan’s bail plea was rejected by a Mathura Court after which he approached the High Court for justice.
A reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) Siddique Kappan was arrested along with three others in Uttar Pradesh in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras to report on the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman.
The police had claimed that the accused were trying to disturb the law and order in Hathras. They had also alleged that the accused had links with the Popular Front of India.
The rape victim died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after her alleged rape by four men from her village on September 14, 2020.
He was arrested in Uttar Pradesh along with three others in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras where he was going for a report on the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl.
He along with three others were charged under Sections 17 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Section 124A (sedition), Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of Indian Penal Code and Sections 65, 72 and 75 of the Information Technology Act.
The bail plea of Kappan was rejected by the Mathura court in July 2021 on the ground that they were going to instigate the people in Hathras and disturbing the law while claiming to just go for filing a report.